I feel like I’m standing on the proverbial precipice here. It’s about to get mondo busy in my world. We’ve already seen a bit of pricing released for 2014 Bordeaux futures,and I am certain that beginning next week, the price releases will be fast and furious. The Wine Advocatewill release its April 2015 edition on Thursday, and that should only speed things up. Seeing that May begins next week, that will act as further incentive to those chateaux who haven’t yet announced to release their 2014 prices. Vinexpo takes place in Bordeaux this June, so the Bordelais are going to want to have things wrapped up by the time June 1 comes around, or at least I would. So just knowing what’s on the horizon, I’m going to take the evening off, as I accepted some friends’ invitation for dinner. What’s on the menu? Poulet Provençal.

I’ll get back to all of the Bordeaux business shortly, but in order to enjoy my “taking the evening off,” I am still in charge of bringing and opening the wine for dinner.Talk about type-cast!! Oh well, I’m okay with it. Knowingmy friends, they’re going to want a light red wine to enjoy with this delicious dish. Me being me, something white … or gold … or in between. Got it! Now as for the red … (pause; thinking). I’m going back to the well here, butconsidering the aromatic profile, complexity, and light-weight body of this wine, Claudie Jobard’s 2012 Rully la Chaume is the perfect candidate, wine-wise and budget-wise. When we introduced Claudie’s 2012’s in form of this here blog-post a few months ago, we went on about who Claudie Jobard is, and how her wines have made their way into our shop. Not much was said about the wines themselves. Let’s fix that; tonight with her red wine.

When I think of a red wine to pair with Poulet Provençal, I think of a wine with complex aromas, and a red Burgundy is going to have that covered. Jobard’s 2012 Rully la Chaume emits a delicate Pinot Noir bouquet.One gets the cherries, strawberries, forest floor, a hint of earth and baking spices – yet in delicate, restrained fashion. If any of these nuances were to be dialed up a bit, it would transform this complex profile into something more linear. That’s one point that David has made again and again in regard to Claudie’s wines – nothing is overdone. The palate begins with these olfactory sensations still in place, giving the taster the impression of a fruit drive which is immediately coaxed by the vibrant acidity to join forces in its light bodied frame, for a fresh, harmonious finish.There are not a whole lot of red wines that I would everpair with chicken for my own consumption, not from a pure pairing perspective (if you’d like to open that 1955 La Mission Haut-Brion with my chicken dinner, I say by all means, allez-y). This red wine is different. It has the promise of being a sensational food wine; and its potential partners exist far beyond Poulet Provençal!

Okay, dinner will end. Sunday will come and go. Monday morning, I’ll be right back here typing away. No doubt my inbox will be full of emails, mostly from Bordeaux, and as I mentioned above, the next weeks promise to be full of Bordeaux news. It is not easy to sum up the vintage in a paragraph or seven, but I will say here that the 2014 vintage has the potential to be a success for many producers. As pricing is released, The Wine House SF will offer the futures, as we always do. I highly encourage any customers that are interested, or those with wish-lists, to please inquire with us, and we will provide the pricing information as they are released. So, until then … did I hear right that I’m taking the evening off? – Peter Zavialoff